Wednesday, October 10, 2012

When I saw a recipe entitled "Amazing Sweet Potato Burritos" on the Safeway website, I was intrigued. The ingredients combined sounded quite odd, but appealing in a way. I put it on my radar for "recipes I want to veganize." The other day at the store, I picked up some enormous sweet potatoes that just happened to be calling my name and made this dish based on the Safeway recipe. Brooke liked them. Steve liked them. Morgan didn't even taste them. Okay, I'll take two out of three rave reviews. I loved them! The combination of the spicy bean mixture and the sweetness from the potato was very satisfying. I did pick up some Daiya vegan cheddar cheese shreds and used them for the original recipe, but not for my leftovers. I went cheese-less for my leftovers (regular dairy cheese for Steve) and preferred mine without.

The only photo I remembered to take was with my phone, so please forgive the poor quality of the photograph. I need to keep my Canon SLR out and handy.

Sweet Potato and Bean Burritos

1 tbsp oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

6 cups of beans (Okay, the original called for 6 cups canned beans, drained, then 2 cups of water. I used 6 cups of cranberry beans that I had cooked and frozen. I thawed them and used them with their cooking liquid. They had been cooked without salt or other seasoning, so I did season the beans to taste for that reason. The cranberry beans made the refried bean mixture very silky in texture, which is one reason I love cranberry beans, but I think black beans would also be very tasty in this dish. Play around with what you have on hand or what you like.)

3 heaping tbsp chili powder (I used ancho chili powder)

2 heaping tsp cumin

4 tsp prepared yellow mustard

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)

3 tbsp soy sauce (if you salt the dish, do so after adding the soy sauce)

4 cups cooked sweet potatoes, mashed with 1-2 tbsp of vegan butter to keep them from being dry (I had "baked" three enormous sweet potatoes in the microwave until tender. They definitely yielded more than 4 cups, but in this house, it was not a concern. We now have no more sweet potatoes left.)

12 10-inch flour tortillas, warmed (I used multigrain tortillas)

8 oz shredded vegan cheese (or regular cheese for the non-vegans in the house) or no cheese at all, if that is your preference

Saute' the onion and garlic in hot oil until softened and starting to caramelize. Add beans and mash. Stir in seasonings, mustard, soy sauce, and stir to combine. Taste to check seasonings and adjust if necessary.

To assemble, place a few spoonfuls of beans, a few spoonfuls of sweet potato, and a sprinkling of cheese (if using) on a warmed tortilla and roll up burrito style (I fold my ends in to make it less messy to eat). Place burritos side by side in a baking dish and place in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes or until warmed and cheese is melted.

You can serve these with additional shredded cheese, vegan sour cream, salsa, or the hot sauce of your choice if you wish. We ate them "naked" at our house. They were delicious!